Anti-Gun Bigotry From Online Personals Site

[StopTheGrays]

I have an online posting in the Onion's Personals Ads. I do not want to get into the why's or how's of the posting but the picture I had put up was of me at the 2004 SHOT Show aiming a P-90 in the air.

It has been up for a month or so . Today I check one of my email accounts and this message was in there.

Hey there!

Sorry! We had to remove a photo from your personals account on Onion
due to a Terms of Service violation.

You have to be present in all submitted pictures (recent photos only).

REMINDER: Guidelines for posting pictures
** Images containing the following are not permitted:
- Nudity
- Sexually explicit or suggestive situations
- Children alone (even if it is a picture of you)
- Pets alone
- Copyrighted photos/images/drawings
- Contact info
- URL
- Firearms
- Drug usage


If you have any questions, you can review our terms of service at:
http://www.springstreetnetworks.com/tos/

Thanks!
Spring Street Networks Content Review
[email protected]

I reviewed the information found on their website concerning TOS and it did not mesh with they had given me for a reason for taking down my image. This is the email I sent back asking WTH were they talking about.:

Can you give me the URL that lists firearms as being not permitted in an image. I looked at the link provided and it did not mention anything about firearms nor did this one:



This is from the image posting help page:

http://personals.theonion.com/faq.aspx#photos3


What are the photo guidelines?
To ensure that photos are appropriate, our Customer Service team reviews each photo that is submitted to our system. Photos should meet the following guidelines:

* Post a recent photo of yourself.
* You must appear in each photo you post. Images of pets, children alone or copyrighted images such as cartoons or celebrities will be removed.
* Do not post images of abusive, obscene, or sexual situations or the profile and/or image will be removed.
* Problems with uploading photos? Send them to us! Click here to find out how!


Because the picture I posted does not belong to any of the catagories listed above I would like the image I had posted to be back up and an apology for violating your own commitment on the "free _expression of ideas".

This my first experience with being discriminated against because I am a gun owner and I assume I made the correct response to it. Is there anything else I should have done?

 

[Devonai]

It sounds to me like "firearms" will be very shortly added to the list of verboten images. Perhaps the disclaimer list should read ...and anything else we should find ourselves offended by in the future.

I would write a news article about the whole thing in the satirical style of the Onion and submit it to them. Meanwhile, unless their personals service has resulted in multiple successful encounters with beautiful ladies, move on to another service.

 

[sturmruger]

I met my wife on www.love.com I would try that out instead. We have been married for almost 5 years. I didn't post any pics with guns, but if I was dating again I probably would. Mine as well weed out the women that don't like guns.

 

[halvey]

Firearms are now right up there with drugs usage, nudity, beastiality and pedifiles.

*sigh*

We have a long way to go...

 

[DigMe]

I have a couple of friends who met on match.com. They are two peas in a pod.

brad cook

 

[spacemanspiff]

theres a woman with a yahoo personal ad up here who has a picture of her hunting.
a couple others mention in their ads that they like shooting.

 

[Travis McGee]

After another generation of liberal brainwashing, it will be easier to get teenage boys to make out with each other than to touch "dirty guns."

 

[StopTheGrays]

I met my wife on www.love.com I would try that out instead. We have been married for almost 5 years. I didn't post any pics with guns, but if I was dating again I probably would. Mine as well weed out the women that don't like guns.

And that is why I posted that picture, as an easy way to weed out the "guns are scary/bad/evil" nuts.

But the equating of firearms to drug use and child porn made me mad, that is why I had to send an email asking for a better clarification of their policy---which does not mention (according to the TOS on their website) firearms being verbotten in the images one posts.

 

[Zundfolge]

Don't know anything about it other then the name, but I bet these guys don't have any anti gun bovine scat goin' on.

http://www.singlerepublican.com/


I'm sure there's other online personals/dating sites that cater to non-liberals.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Is there anything else I should have done?

Take your dollars where your civil rights are respected.

 

[Nightfall]

A man safely handling a firearm ranks the same to them as a picture of child molestation.

*sigh*

 

[chevrofreak]

Does anyone else agree that it may be a bad idea for a complete stranger that you may potentially meet to know you are a gun person/owner? Think about that for a sec.

 

[braindead0]

Does anyone else agree that it may be a bad idea for a complete stranger that you may potentially meet to know you are a gun person/owner? Think about that for a sec.

Depends on your other security measures, if you don't use your real name (and most of these things don't I think), only provide a general geographical location...etc....

One can only be soo careful.. do you ever show up at a shooting range??? Well, everybody there that you don't know now knows you have guns.... If a criminal wanted to steal some firearms, he could simply case a shooting range and get everything he needs (license plate #'s..etc).

There is only so much you can do.

 

[Jay Kominek]

I have a picture of myself on OKcupid holding my FAL. Havn't had any troubles, and I don't expect to.

 

[StopTheGrays]

Does anyone else agree that it may be a bad idea for a complete stranger that you may potentially meet to know you are a gun person/owner? Think about that for a sec.

I look as it as a way to get it out in the open as quick as possible so that I do not have to waste my time chating back and forth and what not before I find out they hate guns. I say in my profile that I am a hunter---sort of implying that I own guns, kill animals for food and sport, and eat meat. That is another way to weed out those who are animal rights whackos.

Plus, by the time you meet them you can gather enough info thru the internet, assuming you get their real name, to be able to figure out if they are worth meeting or not.

 

[StopTheGrays]

This is the response I got back from them:

Hello XXXXXXXXXX,

According to the Terms of Service we have the right to remove any
content that we deem inappropriate for our site. While it is not
specifically stated in the Terms of Service, we do not want images of firearms in
the personal ads.

We understand you might not have been aware of this. The letter is just
informing you to use images without firearms.




Arunesh Ram
Customer Service Associate
Spring Street Networks, Inc.

I am currently thinking of a subdued response....something better than to tell them to go "pound sand" as I would like to do. Maybe ask them about if images of tobacco products are acceptable even though the use of it has been assumed to cause death, moreso than firearms.

 

[buy guns]

Does anyone else agree that it may be a bad idea for a complete stranger that you may potentially meet to know you are a gun person/owner? Think about that for a sec.

i think thats a little overly cautious. i would be more worried about driving a nice car around town and someone tracing my license plate.

 

[Das Pferd]

Did you pay for this?

 

[wingman]

We have a long way to go

Actually we have a long way back to what we once were, we lose freedoms
daily in this cultural war that I am afraid we will lose all simply in terms of
to great of a population. I grew up in a world where people displayed
firearms in a glass gun cabinet, now in truth it best not to tell people
what you have or don't have.

 

[StopTheGrays]

Did you pay for this?

Yes and no. I bought some "tokens" that allows me to email anyone I want to talk to who I find interesting. $25.00 worth, I am not sure how many I left.

 

[Black Snowman]

I'd mention how offended you are by their bigotry at having your picture removed and ask for a refund, then stay way far away from their website.

 

[rock jock]

Frankly, I don't understand why anyone would want to post a pic of themselves with a gun on a personals. It seems like a prop to me. Are you advertising yourself or the gun?

 

[The_Antibubba]

I'm trying to be a little more discreet

I'm trying to meet a nice Jewish girl on JDate, here in California. Talk about gun-shy! I have mentioned that I am into Target Shooting, and left it at that. I'll try to work RKBA into the conversations later, in person, when I'm a little more comfortable with her, and she with me.

Take it slow! Impress her with your other attributes first.

 

[The Rabbi]

Antibubba,
I hate to be discouraging but good luck finding a girl that is into guns. If you do please let me know because I know a number of guys that are looking for same (Im happily married 14 years).

When we first got married I had never mentioned this interest to my wife (I had two guns but wasnt actively shooting then). One day she decides to clean the apartment. She opens the bottom dresser drawer and goes to empty everything out and my nickel Colt Python falls on her foot. She had a few questions for me when I came home.

 

[chaim]

StopTheGrays, if I were you I'd stay away from that site and ask for a refund. However, I'd also use a different pic. Do you want to meet women or do you want to make a political statement? The idea of a pic on a singles site is so that people will know what you look like. Holding that rifle by your face pretty much blocks out 70% of your face and leaves people guessing as to what you look like. Maybe you might want a more subdued picture with you and a gun so your face shows but people still see you are into guns (maybe a pic with a gun in a holster). Heck, see if the more subdued gun pic gets past the censors at that website if you really want to stay on it.

I'm trying to meet a nice Jewish girl on JDate, here in California. Talk about gun-shy! I have mentioned that I am into Target Shooting, and left it at that. I'll try to work RKBA into the conversations later, in person, when I'm a little more comfortable with her, and she with me.

Antibubba, there are pro-gun Jewish girls out there. On Frumster.com I met a woman who when I told her I was into target shooting (I start small too) had the reaction "Cool!" and proceeded to tell me for the next 10 minutes about the time she went to a range and rented a Glock. As things went on we talked more about guns and she was totally ok with it. Didn't work out, but just because she wanted to stay in LA and I don't want to live in CA. I've meet several others who didn't work out for one reason or another but for whom the guns weren't an issue. Only one woman let me know she actually had objections to the guns (and then it wasn't a deal breaker).